Lucky Whittaker
'''Clarence Richard "Lucky" Whittaker '''is a character portrayed by ZeMeeM. Most notably about him, he is the first (despite not being mentioned until recently) of his characters to have been born in a specific small town, and not "the outskirts of city." Birth and early life Clarence Richard Whittaker was born on June 2nd, 1919 in Gold Hill, Alabama to Philip Whittaker and Mary Sue Hill. Both of his parents were of English descent, and his father's side had relatives who were part of the original Jamestown settlement. His father was a coal miner who had been drafted into the 3rd US Infantry Division during the First World War and had served through all of its major engagements. His mother was a tailoress who made clothes and sewed quilts. Clarence was the oldest of two brothers, his younger being Carl Whittaker. Due to the family's self reliance on growing its own food, making its own clothes and doing much of its own work, they were able to push through despite living in a backwatered and very poor community. During the Great Depression, the family's savings also helped them push through an even more extreme state of poverty; with the money they collectively piled up they were able to afford to move to an apartment in Montgomery after selling all their possessions in Gold Hill. There they attended public schooling and lived a somewhat easier life. At age 17, Clarence, who had been nicknamed "Lucky" since age seven, graduated high school. National Guard & Moving Out Upon graduation he immediately enlisted in the National Guard. Honing his skills in months of intensive training, he eventually was promoted to Private First Class. Whittaker largely survived off National Guard money, which had helped him buy a new home in nearby Sandy Ridge. He made his money as a janitor at the elementary school in Montgomery and lived a largely lonely life in Sandy Ridge. Twice during his service with the National Guard he attempted negotiating transfer: both to the regular army, one of those transfers being to the Mexican border, while the other to the Philippine Garrison. After thee years of service he was reassigned from the National Guard to the Manila Garrison in the Philippines. Bataan Immediately after the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, Whittaker and his unit were sent to Bataan. Fighting the brutal battle continued for months upon months, and Whittaker was wounded three times throughout the course of the battle and separated from his unit in March. He continued his resistance until capture on April 7. He recounts "killing at least two hundred Japs," during the battle, although a more realistic number is around 62 Japanese soldiers. Nonetheless he gained a reputation among the Japanese troops for bravery and his refusal to surrender. Upon capture he was beaten numerous times, which continued during the death march. He persisted nonetheless; once imprisoned he was frequently spat on, horsewhipped, spat on and kicked by Japanese guards. At one instance he picked up a large rock from a nearby area and hurled it at an officer who was mocking him, and the guard thus had his head cracked open and subsequently died of blood loss the next day. As punishment he was to be executed. Shortly before execution he was taunted in front of his fellow prisoners and humiliated, leading to him angrily snapping the ropes that kept him together and attacking the man who intended on killing him. He stole his katana and pistol in the process and started a prisoner riot in the camp. During the riot, he led 43 US and Filipino men of the 276 at his camp to escape to freedom in the nearby jungles. The rest were either killed in the uprising, beheaded afterwards or sent off to hell ships and other prison camps in Japanese territories. He spent the rest of the year until Christmas Day of 1942 with Filipino Guerrillas, attacking and ambushing Japanese troop columns in the island and scorching farms to prevent the enemy from gaining food access. He escaped on his own in a PT boat he stole from a local Japanese garrison and spent 2 months at sea until arriving in Australia. Reassignment to the Marine Corps After R&R in Australia, he was assigned to the US 1st Marine Division shortly after the conclusion of the Battle of Guadalcanal. He was given the rank of Sergeant and sent to the Solomon Islands to be put in control of a group of new marines and train them for service; he did as such before being called upon to serve at Cape Gloucester. In Lucky's words, "Cape Gloucester was easy compared to Bataan and everythin' beforehand. Peleliu was another story." Peleliu Peleliu saw Whittaker lead bloody offensives from the landing at White Beach all the way until the arrival on the airfield. Heatstroke killed most of his men before actual fighting did, and he had to often distribute dirty water rations to his men just to keep them alive; he himself came down with fever numerous times during the fighting. He was scarred psychologically from the sheer amount of casualties and the conditions around him, and after taking Peleliu airfield and rescuing downed naval aviator Jack Brooks, he was finally allowed rest from the battle. At battle's end, he was once again given R&R and promoted to Master Sergeant. Okinawa At Okinawa, Lucky's spirits were brought to an all time low as he became tired, hungry, and wet constantly. He barely mustered the energy to fight through the battle but did as such until the later phases of the battle, when he was severely wounded by grenade shrapnel. After this he was withdrawn from service and in turn the war at the conclusion, and returned psychologically scarred. the rest to be added